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Meet the woman who mentored the leaders and fostered the institutions that fueled its 20th-century transformation.
In the late summer of 1949, a troubled Billy Graham left his home in Minneapolis for Southern California to keep a promise made in more optimistic times to Henrietta Mears, the director of Christian education at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood.
Unfortunately, in the months since the Youth for Christ evangelist accepted Mears’s invitation to address a convention of college and university students at her conference center, life seemed to crash in on him. Not only had his recent search for the right graduate program proved futile, but his June revival campaign in Altoona, Pennsylvania, endured a series of problems and ended in disarray.
The core of Graham’s distress, however, proceeded from his growing unease regarding the accuracy and authority of Scripture. Nonetheless, during the last week of August, the despondent 30-year-old found himself a mile high in the San Bernardino Mountains as the featured morning speaker at Forest Home for the third annual College Briefing Conference.
Although his messages appeared to be well received, Graham could often be found praying with Mears, seeking counsel regarding his way forward, which appeared increasingly charged with difficulties. Her grasp of biblical truths, awareness of modern scholarship, and unwavering commitment to the veracity of Scripture deeply impressed him, and he absorbed every insight she could provide.
Finally, one evening late in the week, Graham directly confronted his most sincere doubts and greatest fears, thereby opening the door to a powerful renewal of faith that immediately transformed his ministry.
Just a few days after his life-changing experience at the conference, Graham drafted a letter to Mears, which expressed in no uncertain terms ...
from Christianity Today Magazine
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